Estate Sales & Auction Blog

In the post World War II and Cold War eras, Ron and Betty Sher shared successful careers inside the U.S. Department of State. She was a retired Foreign Service Staff Officer and he was a U.S. Navy veteran and retired foreign service officer. Both spent their careers dealing with diplomats and dignitaries around the world in various Soviet Union "Iron Curtain" countries, China, Southeast Asia, Togo, Senegal, Germany and beyond. In fact, between the two, they explored and visited over 55 countries. Learn about this dynamic couple and their estate.

Every August, National Wear Your Mother's Jewelry Day occurs without much fanfare and without much notice. But this year, we got to thinking, what might be so special about your mother's (or grandmother's) jewelry that there's a day dedicated to it? That question led us to consider all jewelry passed down from our forbears ... heirloom jewelry and to inquire for industry experts their tips for sourcing and passing down heirloom jewelry.

Although the antique style brings a particular emotional relevance, random placement of such items carries the risk of creating an outdated look in your new modern living room. However, there are several different ways to decorate with antique pieces, while still keeping your home both stylish and timeless - trust me!

Our new blog series "Complementary. Guest Curations" is brought to you by savvy interior designers, decorators, fashionistas, collectors, and lifestyle influencers. You don't want to miss Rebekah Dempsey of A Blissful Nest's pro-styling tips for her picks of the week.

Last week, we focused on all the fabulous shades of colored diamonds (brown, yellow, green, blue, red, pink, and purple). This week, our gemologist, Susan Leeper, brings us the glamour, allure, and extraordinary timelessness of the black diamond....

Who says diamonds should be white? Did you know that diamonds come naturally in a wide array of colors and hues ranging from the most common -- browns -- to the extraordinarily rare red diamond? Since the diamond is April's birthstone, we are celebrating the mighty diamond.

Did you know that BRG's jewelry department has a GIA graduate gemologist and jewelry expert on staff? We recently sat down with her to learn the best DIYs to properly clean, store, and care for the treasures lying in your jewelry box.

Some terms don't necessarily fall into the neat categories of gemology or metallurgy, but are nonetheless good to know. We've collected some miscellaneous jewelry terms -- most of them have to do with embellishments. Here are our terms of miscellany.

Since the dawn of the Bronze Age, metals (precious, semi-precious, and non-precious) have become ubiquitous with jewelry. From tin to gold, popularity and values of metals ebb and flow. In our sixth installment of our jewelry series, learn some key terms and metals used in jewelry today.

Large. Small. Opaque. Clear. Antique. Vintage, Contemporary. Gems come in different shapes, sizes, colors, clarities, and age. Learn some gemology basics in part V of our jewelry series, Bring on the Blingology.